Desires Unveiled
by Jyira Keller
Summary: A Shadow Mistress is mourning over the death of her Shadow Man. Angry at the girl who took him from her, she creates a new game, a game of cat and mouse where Jenny and her friends are the mice. Jenny must ressurect an old friend to help them defeat the S
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimers: All Forbidden Game characters belong to LJS, anyone else belongs to me. Please ask if you want to borrow them. The species glittawitch comes from an rpg I used to be part of. It's creators are Ivy and Starr. For more information go to http://eny.nu/glittawitch/   
  
Summary: A Shadow Mistress is mourning over the death of her Shadow Man (guess who?). Angry at the girl who took him from her, she creates a new game, a game of cat and mouse where Jenny and her friends are the mice. A game that could have fatal consequences. For assistance with their new enemy Jenny must find a way to raise an old friend to help them defeat the Shadow Mistress.  
  
Part 1  
  
The frozen ice of the Shadow World never melted, it didn't get any warmer. The hearts of those within remained frozen solid, as did Shavone's. Her heart had been warmed once. Only once.  
  
But her love had turned to anger, and then to hatred, as she realised her love had loved someone else. A mortal girl. What kind of Shadow Man would love a mortal girl? Enough to give his own life?  
  
He could have had her. The only Shadow Mistress within the nine worlds. She had power and beauty and intelligence beyond imagining. She reigned the darkness. But nothing would bring him to her.  
  
And when the mortal and her friends had entered the Shadow World, Shavone's anger and hatred had turned into dispair. She would not watch the bitch take away her only love.  
  
She had not been able to bear the pain. She had hidden herself away in a cavern deep in the ice, and during the course of the time here had put a spell on herself, making her as cold as the ice around her, so she would never have to feel the agony of love again.  
  
The spell had failed.  
  
Two humans with fortunate enough to escape the House of Nightmares had tried to take refuge within her cavern, and without knowing woken the demon hiding there.  
  
News of her love's death had reached her. And the hot fury and hatred for the mortal girl had burned away the ice, scouring Shavone's mind clear of all but one thing: revenge.  
  
No one could stand up against the Shadow Mistress when she was mad.  
  
And now, she was back and ready to fight.  
  
She hoped they were prepared to die.  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
Jenny paced restlessly around her empty house. Her parents were out of town for a week with her little brother, and she was all alone. For some reason, she felt...she didn't know how to describe it. A feeling of anxiety, as if...as if something was going to happen.  
  
She had been feeling this way for almost a week now. Dee reckoned it was probably just fear of finals. But it wasn't finals Jenny was worried about. Tom, of course, told her there was nothing to worry about, she would feel better soon. He seemed distracted lately, as if his mind wanted to be anywhere but on her.  
  
He had been a completely different with her for the last year. She didn't know what was wrong. What she had done to upset him, or why she felt he wanted to break up with her.  
  
And there was that new girl, Shavone. He seemed quite taken with her. Of course, almost everyone was. The girl's beauty was strange and stunning, her orange hair was unusually bright, and her eyes...her eyes were a blue of an indescribable colour. They made her think of Julian's eyes.  
  
She admitted, if only to herself, she missed him. The event of his death after what had happened in the Shadow World had had different effects on all the group. They seemed to see things in a new light.  
  
It was hard to believe Summer had been going with Zach for their entire senior year. Audrey and Michael were still together, more intense than they used to be. Dee had really applied herself to her studies this year, as well as her sports.   
  
But Jenny wasn't sure what had changed about her. She felt unsure of herself, where she was going, what would happen. She wanted to change, she wanted to be somewhere different.  
  
She hadn't expressed any of these feelings to anyone.  
  
She was so deep into her thoughts that when the doorbell rang she nearly leapt through the ceiling. Get a grip, girl, she thought, hurrying to the door.  
  
But when she opened it, there was no one there. There was a jack-in-the-box and a white envelope. Jenny looked around, but could see no one. She picked up the box and the letter and took them inside back to the lounge. She frowned, seeing the letter was addressed to her.  
  
She frowned, and put it aside for a moment, and began to wind the handle of the jack-in-the-box. These things had always scared her as a kid, she'd always jumped and screamed when the thing opened.  
  
But this time, the scream wasn't one of pleasurable, apprehensible fear. It was a scream of terror. Because the doll inside had been replaced with what looked like a voodoo doll, with a tiny dagger in its chest, and a photo of Tom's face on its face.  
She threw it to the floor, and stanched up the letter, ripping the envelope open. There was a piece of card inside, with gold writing on a black background reading:  
  
GREETINGS FROM THE SHADOW WORLD.  
YOU ARE INVITED TO PLAY A NEW GAME.  
BRING YOUR FRIENDS.  
MAKE SURE YOU'RE READY TO DIE.  
  
* * *  
Tom glanced over at the pretty girl opposite him. She was without a doubt, one of the prettiest girls he had ever since. He had been entranced with her ever since she'd first come to Vista Grande. It seemed weird that she had come to a new school, right before finals and the end of the year. That must be awful for her. They were sitting together in a booth in the local burger bar. Not very romantic, but he didn't want word getting back to Jenny. Ever since Shavone had arrived, Jenny had slipped to the sidelines. He just couldn't help himself. Shavone was new and beautiful and mysterious. He had known Jenny forever. No surprises there.  
  
He realised, he didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about cheating on her. Nobody else knew about their new relationship. He wanted to keep it that way. And Shavone seemed fine with that. He studied her, as she snuggled against him, delicately sipping her milkshake through a straw, twirling it in long, elegant fingers. He glanced around but could see nobody who would run and blab to Jenny. And with that settled, he allowed himself to slip his arm around Shavone's shoulders. She smiled, and it was all he could do not to sigh out loud with pleasure at the sight of her dazzling beauty. Her eyes were the most wonderful colour he could imagine. Such a vivid shade of blue. Pools easy to fall into forever...you could drown in eyes like that...But she was so cold. Her skin felt like ice. Whenever he was with her, it was impossible to warm her up, no matter what he tried. He had done...things...with Shavone that he would never dream of doing with Jenny. Another reason she must never find out. He had always expected Jenny to be his first. But Jenny was so...ordinary. Maybe it wouldn't be as special with her. But Shavone...Shavone was something else. "Let's get out of here," Shavone whispered into his ear, her lips brushing against his flesh.   
  
"Where'd you want to go?" he asked as he led her outside. It was such a beautiful night she had insisted they walk. The stars shimmered in the night sky, the moon creating a soft white glow over everything. He glanced around, allowing Shavone to lead him where she wanted. He never seemed to be able to say no to her. She was leading him out of the familiar area he knew, to some dark, deserted hillside. There was a little parking spot by a wall. The wall overlooked the town, as they stood by and leaned against it, they could see the hundreds of lights of Vista Grande twinkling below. A car whizzed by, loud music blaring, destroying the peaceful atmosphere.   
  
Tom glanced around, annoyed. The car stopped. Did a turn and screeched to a halt right in front of them. The driver stopped the car, not turning off the annoyingly loud music. His eyes were blank, as if he wasn't seeing anything. He turned the blank gaze on Shavone, who smiled her dazzling smile at him. He just stared at her, stricken, the expression most men got looking at her. He made a small moaning sound. Then he walked over to the wall, stood on it.   
  
"Shavone? What are you doing?"  
  
The guy jumped.   
  
Shavone turned her smile on Tom, who backed away from her. A feeling of fear was stirring inside of him now. What had he been thinking? He'd been so entranced with her beauty he hadn't even bothered to look any deeper. That wasn't like him. He shook his head, confused.  
  
Shavone reached out for him, her cold hands clasping his arms. She was whispering into his ear, in a strange a language he couldn't understand. And yet, the words she was saying were infecting him, he found himself moving against his will, as if she were controlling him. He walked over to the car, shut the door, and started the engine. He left the loud music blurring.  
  
He started the car. He found himself pointing it at the cliff edge. He revved the engine. Shavone's smile and her indescribable blue eyes remained in his vision as he drove the car over the cliff.  
  
The last thing he saw. The last thing he heard was the chilling sound of her laughter as the world exploded into fire and agony.   
  
* * *  
  
Shavone smiled. One gone already. She began to walk home, easily blending in with the shadows and darkness around her. The human authorities would be here soon. They would assume that Tom had been drinking and got drunk and stupid and driven his car off a cliff. Or something like that. She wasn't too clear on how human authorities worked. She only knew how the Shadow World authorities worked, because she made the laws. She was the Shadow Queen.  
  
And nobody disobeyed her, unless they wanted to end their life early.  
  
Her heart clenched in pain suddenly. The ice she'd wrapped around herself was starting to melt again, and she could feel cold tears dripping down her cheeks. The ice was so cold she felt as if it were carving crevasses out of the flesh of her face, if she cried anymore all her flesh would be withered away, leaving nothing but bone in its place.  
  
She brushed the tears away angrily. She wouldn't let that happen to her. Her mind was scoured clean of everything but one word: Revenge.   
  
It was the only way to rectify the damage that had been done to her. The human bitch would pay for taking Julian away from her. Shavone would make her pay if it was the last thing she did.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
When Jenny went into school the next day, she was more than a little surprised to see police cars and officers talking to the students and teachers. People kept coming up to her, hugging her, saying things like "I'm so sorry," and "You poor thing. This must be so awful for you." Jenny accepted the sympathy, not sure why, or what was going on.   
  
She looked around for her friends, but couldn't see them anywhere. What had happened? What was going on? What must be terrible for her? She remembered the card and toy sent through the mail. She had passed it off as a cruel practical joke. Nothing more than that.  
  
But...but who would know about the Shadow World? She had reckoned it had been someone from when Summer had disappeared, they had, of course, told the truth, and no one had believed them. Someone must have heard them mention the Shadow World and decided to be mean.  
  
And now...this. She glanced around, feeling confused. The confusion began to turn to fear. She had to find her friends. They had to be okay. They had to. Had to. She ran to find Audrey in her English class. Audrey wasn't in her seat. She tried to find Dee in the gym. No Dee. No Michael in science. No Zach in art. No Summer in library study hall. No Tom in Business Admin. Where was everyone?  
  
The fear had turned to panic. There was no way they could all disappear at once! Where the hell where they?  
  
She couldn't go to her own class. Not like this. She couldn't explain to anyone what was wrong; she didn't even know how to explain it to herself.   
  
She saw the new girl Shavone, out the corner of her eye. The girl's bright orange hair caught her attention, and she saw several people being notably sympathetic to her too. Shavone looked up then, and saw Jenny watching.   
  
Her eyes were ice cold. Looking into them made Jenny shudder with fear. She backed away. Shavone's lips curled. She seemed amused by Jenny's fear.   
  
Jenny ran. Home. She had to get home. She would be safe there. Then she could call the police. Let them think she was out her mind, she didn't care. She had to know what happened to her friends.  
  
She was sobbing by the time she reached her house. She slammed the door shut and locked it, sliding down the door, sitting with her back against it, rocking back and forth in terror.  
Why was this happening to her again? Who would do something like this?  
  
"Jenny?" Summer's voice. Jenny looked up, to see all her friends, less Tom, crowding into the doorway from the living room.   
  
"Where have you all *been?*" Jenny exploded, jumping to her feet, fear turning into a weird combination of rage and relief.   
  
"Where have we been, where have *you* been, that's the question," Audrey said as she and Dee helped Jenny to a seat on the couch.  
  
"I went to school, like normal," Jenny said, confused. "There were police cars there and people kept coming up to me being weirdly sympathetic, and I went to look for you guys and you weren't there, and I guess I panicked..."  
  
"We thought you'd have stayed home," Dee said. "We came as soon as we heard. And then you weren't here. And - "  
  
"What *did* happen?" Jenny asked, looking around. Everyone seemed stunned, and almost in shock.  
  
"I can't believe nobody told you," Michael said.  
  
"Told me *what?*" Jenny snapped. This was getting ridiculous.  
  
"Told you that Tom is dead," Audrey finally supplied. "He died last night. He drove a stolen car off a cliff."  
* * *  
  
Jenny's hearing must have gone funny. Either that or Audrey had gone insane. Tom, dead, and stolen car did not go together. No way. Not true. It was all a dream. A nightmare. She'd wake up in a minute, call Tom; he'd answer the phone, and reassure that he was fine, just fine.   
  
She laughed. It was a strange sound, dry and hollow. It didn't fit in. She noticed the others exchange glances.  
  
"Jenny?" Summer ventured. "Should we call a doctor? You don't look very well."  
  
Jenny didn't answer. She sank back into the soft cushions of the couch. She wasn't sure how she felt yet. Her eyes were strangely dry, there were no tears. Not even horror, fear or anything. Just an empty void that would never be filled.  
  
Never.   
  
"It's true, isn't it?" she whispered. "It's really, really true..." Two tears squeezed out of her eyes. There. She was crying. Once she sobbed it all out, them maybe she could feel something.   
  
It was wrong to loose the love of your life and not feel a thing. But...maybe she didn't feel a thing because...because maybe Tom wasn't the love of her life after all...   
  
But what did it matter now? Tom was gone, Julian was gone, and they were never coming back...  
  
"Oh my God!" Audrey's voice, suddenly sharp with horror broke through and registered into Jenny's stunned mind.  
  
"Holy shit..." That was Dee.  
  
"Yuck." Michael.  
  
Jenny looked around. They all looked horrified. She could see anything out of the ordinary. The room looked normal, all her parents' expensive décor was still in place, the Native American rugs on the walls, the jars and pots on the floors, bright flowers in the vases on her mother's pine table...  
  
And yet, they were all staring at her, all riveted in absolute terror.  
  
Jenny's hand lifted to her face. She touched the wetness she felt on her cheeks and pulled her fingers away to look at it. Red. There was something red on her fingers. Red and wet.  
  
And now she knew why they all looked so horrified. Blood. She was crying blood.  
  
But that wasn't the worst. The walls were bleeding too, the furniture, all was covered in streams of red, dripping onto the floor, the people, staining them with Jenny's blood. The more Jenny cried. The more the house bled.  
  
Summer was screaming suddenly. Her hair had changed from gentle throthy gold to a river of blood. Summer had blood for hair. She screamed and screamed but everyone seemed unable to move, to run to help.  
  
The blood slowly seemed to focus in one spot on the ceiling now, directly above Summer's head.   
  
"Summer..." Dee started to move forward, to yank Summer back, but she wasn't fast enough. The blood seemed to pour up and down in a column, completely covering Summer. She continued to scream. Bloody hands reached out of the column scrambling desperately for someone to help her...  
  
Dee leapt forward and grabbed summers hands, but the more Dee pulled Summer forward, the more Summer was sucked down the tube of blood.  
  
Summer gave one final shriek, and then the blood vanished.   
  
And Summer fell to the floor. It was as if nothing happened in the room. Everything appeared as normal as it ever had. But Summer wasn't moving.   
  
Dee knelt down and made to feel for a pulse.  
  
"Don't bother, she's fucked," a voice from the door said, a hint of cruel amusement barely hidden.  
  
Every head turned. An uninvited guest stood in the doorway, smiling cruelly, orange hair glinting in the track lightning, ice cold blue eyes sparkling with what looked like morbid pleasure. Shavone.   
  
"How did you get in?" Dee demanded, jumping to her feet.  
  
"Through the door," Shavone answered. "It was open."  
  
"You did that," Audrey put in. Not a question. A simple fact of horrifying truth.  
  
Shavone inspected long, talon like blood red nails. "I like the colour of blood, don't you?"  
  
"You're sick," Dee said with loathing. "How could you do that to Summer? What did Summer ever do to you?"  
  
"Not a thing," Shavone said pleasantly. "I pick on the innocent little twits like Summer cause they're so easy."  
  
Dee gave almost an animal snarl of anger before she launched herself at Shavone. Shavone gave an unimpressed look, like you would for a little kid who was trying to show and prove how tough they were. She waved vaguely and Dee sailed backwards, smashing into the wall, falling down unconscious.   
  
"I'm taking a wild guess here," Michael added, speaking for the first time in a while, "you're not human, are you?"  
  
Shavone smiled. "Score one for the good guys. Human? Please."  
  
"Who are you?" Jenny said, standing up, finally gathering herself enough to understand what was going on. "Why did you kill Tom? What *are* you?"  
  
Shavone met her eyes directly. Shavone's cruel humour had faded in less than a second. She glared at Jenny, her impossibly blue eyes flashing, something ancient and evil rising in their depths. Something incomprehensible to the human race.   
  
"You took someone I loved, I take someone you love," she said. "Fair's fair, right?"  
  
Jenny stared at the ice-cold girl before her, realisation slowly dawning. "You're a Shadow...woman?" she got out.  
  
"Shadow Mistress. Shadow Queen. I make the law. You invaded my territory, you took *my* Shadow Man. And I'm going to make you as miserable as you made me. And that goes for the rest of you too." Shavone's chilling gaze swept the group in the room. "Be prepared, because you'll never know who I'm going to kill next."  
  
* * *  



	2. Part 2

The group sat there in silence. They were all stunned. And frightened. The intensity of the fear in the room was so high you could practically smell it.   
  
"So," Michael said finally breaking the stunned silence. "I guess we're in trouble."  
  
"You think?" Audrey snapped. She gestured vaguely at Summer's body lying there pathetically on the floor. "What are we supposed to do about that?"  
  
How were they supposed to explain it? They'd had a hard enough time trying the first time Summer had disappeared. And now she was dead. Really, really dead, and they had a new enemy, twice as deadly. And no one had the slightest idea what to do about it.   
  
"Is there any way to find out what we can about this new girl?" Dee suggested.   
  
Jenny shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea."  
  
Nobody knew what to do. Shavone was a complete mystery. The last time they'd been drawn into the Shadow World they had all been very clear of Julian's plan. What he had wanted had been made very clear right from the start of the first game. They'd been aware of what dangers they had to face. But this time it was different.  
  
It was very clear that Shavone seemed to want them all very dead. But how she was planning to do it, they didn't know. She was messing with their heads, and doing a damn good job of it. There was no way of knowing when she would strike, and who she would turn on.   
  
And from what it seemed like there was no way to defeat her. But there must be...  
  
Jenny stood up and walked slightly away from the group. Somehow, she knew this was all her fault. Shavone hated her, and her alone, and was using that hatred as an excuse to murder her friends. It was Jenny she wanted to make miserable. She was winning this game.   
  
  
Jenny didn't want to see any more of her friends die. No matter how hopeless the situation looked, they would come up with something.   
  
There must be someone who could help them...  
  
* * *  
  
Zach felt numb. Since Summer's horrific death he hadn't really felt anything. She had changed him so much. Before, the only thing that had mattered to him was his photography. Everything had to be just right, the colours, the background, the symmetry if necessary...  
  
But since she'd come along, she'd shown him there were more fun things to do than being shut up in a dark room all day. She'd even convinced him to join the Mixed-Athletics team with her. She was bouncy and happy and cute. She had been wonderful.  
  
But now...she was gone. Gone. And there seemed no point in anything more. The dark room seemed empty and pointless now. Life was meaningless without Summer to make it fun.   
  
"Poor Zach. For someone so smart you can be so stupid sometimes."  
  
Zach looked up, hearing the amused voice in the shadows. He couldn't quite focus, all he could see in the darkness was a flash of orange hair, the occasional flash of glowing cold blue eyes. Shavone. The Shadow Mistress.   
  
"I already faced my nightmare," he said.   
  
Shavone laughed. Such a chilling sound. Something to make even the worst demons shiver and feel ice slipping down their spine. "Nightmares...it's been a while since I've played that game. You think you have. But you haven't." She stepped out of the shadows. Her beauty was dazzling. Every inch of her was perfect. Not a flaw...except for her ice-cold personality. The laughter faded, and for a moment, she seemed almost pensive. "I didn't have to be this way," she said softly. "I could have been better. But no, you people all made sure that wouldn't happen. I'm just returning the favour. You made me miserable, and I make you miserable."  
  
"I think you've done more than enough damage already," Zach said, trying to sound as if he had some backbone. He refused to give into the fear sparking inside him. She was going to kill him. Now, right now. He would die. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. How do you defeat the Queen of the Shadow Realm?  
  
She continued to smile that unnerving smile, not making no move to attack, settling against the door frame as if for a friendly chat. "Since you didn't really cause me all that much bother I'm going to give you a choice. You can decide how you snuff it." She inspected long dangerous-looking nails.   
  
Zach didn't say anything. The decision was an impossible one. He didn't want t die. No one ever did when they were faced with a situation like this. How did you decide how you wanted to die?  
  
Shavone seemed to be getting impatient. "You're annoying me, Zach. Not a smart thing to do." She sighed heavily. "Since you can't decide I guess I'll have to decide for you. I was prepared to give you a nice, painless death. But that bird has flown. You took too much time." She turned and started to walk out of Zach's room, waving a hand, as if waving good-bye. A permanent good-bye. The world exploded into flames, and the last thing imprinted forever in Zach's mind was a laughing, beautiful face and cold blue eyes of an indescribable colour. Hang on Summer, he thought. I'm coming.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Despite all the extra security Audrey had insisted her parents put up around their house she doubted it would be enough to keep the Shadow Mistress out. Shadow Mistress? It had been bad enough to face the Shadow Man. She remembered how silently furious she had been when Julian had forced them all to face their worst nightmares...that had been bad enough.   
  
But this...  
  
Shavone was just *insane.* What was the girl's problem? So Julian had decided he'd rather have Jenny than her, big deal. Surely there were other Shadow Men out there for her. She needed to get herself a life. Do something t take her mind off it, rather than go around killing everyone else.   
  
Less than half an hour ago she had been given the news of Zach's death. It had been listen as "suicide" because he missed his girlfriend. Audrey didn't know Zach very well, but she doubted he was the suicidal type.   
  
Shavone strikes again.   
  
For some reason, Audrey suddenly felt a compulsion to go look out the window. It was strange, she never bothered taking in things like that, but...but this was too strong for her to resist.   
  
Something in the woods beyond her mansion caught her eyes. Something...dark and moving, with glowing yellow eyes. She could see them clearly even from where she stood. What was it? Maybe she should just send one of the staff out of it.   
  
But that could take time. She wanted to know, what it was, and she wanted to know now. She put on black pumps and left the house, to go investigate the thing in the garden.   
  
If patience had been one of Audrey's virtues, and she had mentioned to the staff there was something strange in the garden, and let them go investigate, and sat down to do her homework, then maybe she would have survived.   
  
But unfortunately, patience wasn't one of Audrey's great virtues. She made her way over an expanse of manicured lawn, spotting the dark shape, an animal of some sort.   
  
"Didn't you ever learn what curiosity did to the cat?" An amused voice asked.   
  
Audrey froze. At that moment she knew she was doomed. She turned around slowly to see Shavone lounging casually against an oak tree on the borders of the woods. The creature by her side was a large, bristling wolf, a red tongue lolling between its jaws, hungry yellow eyes following Audrey's every move.   
  
Shavone's blood-red nails were just brushing the wolf's head. It was a gesture of affection. "I'm guessing you must remember my friend The Lurker?"  
  
Audrey didn't reply. She ran. If only she'd run back to the house, the she might have had a chance. But of course, Shavone and the wolf were blocking the path to the house, forcing her where they wanted her, to run into the woods.   
  
And the wolf ran after her.   
  
* * *  
  
The remaining members of the group, Jenny, Dee and Michael, decided something had to be done. They were dropping like flies, and they needed help, desperately.   
  
"Any ideas?" Jenny said flatly.   
  
"I see two options," Michael said. "One, we can fight her, using God knows what, or two, we can run away. Who's for two?"  
  
"If I wasn't worried she'd find us no matter where we'd run to, I'd be all for two," Jenny admitted. She was tired. Just...tired. The last week had been...it had been a disaster. Four of her best friends were dead, all murdered by an enemy that seemed impossible to defeat.   
  
Dee was appalled. "You two are such wimps! There must be something we can do."  
  
Jenny looked up. "Dee, she waved her hand and you went flying across the room. There's no way we can physically fight her."  
  
"Then what do we fight her with?" Michael asked. "I don't think she'd be too impressed if we tried insulting her into going away and leaving us alone."  
  
"Fight her with magic," Jenny said finally.   
  
And one type of magic came to mind instantly. It had been there all along really, a hidden possibility deep in the depths of her mind. It seemed impossible, she knew nothing about runes or magic...but she could learn.   
  
She had to learn, because their lives depended on it.   
  
She saw Michael and Dee eyeing her. Michael looked confused, Dee, suspicious.   
  
"Jenny?" Dee said softly. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking are you?"  
  
"How about letting us in what everyone's thinking?" Michael asked, looking a little perplexed.   
  
Jenny didn't say anything. She met Dee's dark eyes and nodded once. Dee turned away. "I knew something like this was coming."  
  
"Like what?" Michael was getting annoyed.   
  
Dee sighed. "She's going to carve Julian's name back on the runestave."  
  
Michael didn't say anything. For the first time in his life it seemed he had been shocked speechless.   
  
"Jenny are you *sure* you want to do this?" Dee asked. "Last time..."  
  
"He changed," Jenny said defensively. "He wasn't the arrogant bastard he was at the begging of the first game when they took his name out. He was different. And I'm going to bring him back. I can't think of anyone else who can help us."  
  
Silence. No one was making any comments because they both knew Jenny was right. Shavone would listen to Julian. Jenny wasn't sure how she knew that, she just knew. Julian was the only person who could defeat her. So there was no choice.   
  
She was going to bring the Shadow Man back.   
  
* * *  
  
Jenny had absolutely no idea how she was going to pull this off. She knew nothing about magic at all. She didn't know how to even start, or where to start. There was a New Age shop in town, but if she went and asked, would they think she was crazy?  
  
Of course they would. You didn't go into a shop and say "Could you tell me how to bring back a creature from another world?" But maybe she could ask for some advice about runes. All she needed was a runestave, surely they must know about those things.  
  
She hadn't asked Dee to come, and knew there was no point in asking Michael. She wasn't in the mood for sarcastic humour right now. So she had gone alone. This was her thing, she wanted to do this. Bringing Julian back had been her idea, and she was going to do it alone.   
  
No one else felt the way she did about him. No one knew *how* she felt about him. She had kept her feelings to herself. Up until he'd gone she had no idea about her feelings.   
  
He had frightened her, tricked her, deceived her, been cruel to her friends...but she couldn't help loving him anyway. It had been there all along really, deep inside, she had always been secretly flattered by the attentions he'd had for her. He had said himself there were other girls, prettier than her, girls like Shavone. Shavone was stunning, and powerful, she could have given him anything he'd wanted, but he hadn't wanted Shavone. He had wanted her.   
  
She was nobody special. She had never felt it, or understood why other people liked her so much. But she hadn't denied their attention. She'd been happy to accept it, and had been totally happy in her life, and with Tom. She had thought Tom would always be the one for her, since that first kiss in second grade.   
  
But now...she was beginning to think otherwise. She had clearly not been enough for him and the knowledge of what he had done with Shavone...  
  
It hurt, but there was a way around that. Julian loved her more than Tom obviously ever had. And she loved him, and she wanted him, and she was going to bring him back.   
  
She opened the door to the New Age shop and went inside. Strange music was playing, and a weird smell greeted her nostrils, making them flare. Not exactly in disgust, it wasn't a nasty smell, just...different.   
  
She made her way over to a large bookshelf filled with books. Book on well being, Wicca, palmistry, astrology, tarot, meditation, Feng Shi, Druidry, star signs, crystals. All things that before had seemed like nonsense to Jenny, but now, after being introduced to the Shadow World, she was beginning to think differently.   
  
She picked up one of the Wicca books and began thumbing through it. What would it be, to feel magic flowing through your fingers, to be able to influence things like weather, and love and wealth? It must be a good feeling, to be in league with the sky and earth and animals...  
  
But she wasn't here to stuffy witchcraft, she wanted runes. She looked around the shelves, but couldn't seem to see anything that might be of interest to her. She looked around and saw a girl sitting behind the counter, dressed in colourful gypsy style clothing. She smiled brightly. "Blessed be! Can I help?"  
  
Jenny frowned, and began to feel a little embarrassed, and that she was out of her league. "I hope so," she said finally. "I'm looking for a runestave, and something to tell me how to use one."   
  
The girl stood up and moved into a back room. She came back with a long wooden staff carved with strange markings and symbols. "Here we are," she said cheerfully. She put the runestave on the counter and went to another shelf of books Jenny hadn't noticed. She pulled two volumes down. "You're going to need incense and candles too if you plan to use that, and some sort of protection. Runes can be dangerous when used wrong."  
  
"Any ideas for what incense?" If she remembered correctly, didn't candle colours matter too? Certain colours had certain properties, and gems.   
  
She took the books, and flipped through them, wondering she was going to need anything else. The store girl moved around, seeming to know what she was doing better than Jenny did. She came back with a wicker basket full of incense, crystals, and candles.   
  
She totalled it up on the cash register and Jenny took her purchases and paid. She looked at all the stuff. She was really going to have to concentrate here, she didn't want to mess up like her grandfather had done.   
  
"I hope you know what you're doing," the store girl said before Jenny left. "You don't want to use them wrong. It could be disastrous."  
  
"I'll be careful," Jenny promised. "Thanks for you help."  
  
She hurried home. Apprehension was strong inside her. She wanted to get this over and done with. She was excited but scared at the same time. It was going to take time and preparation to get this all ready. But she was feeling impatient, and her heart was thudding. She knew she had to slow down, but it was going to be hard.   
  
She closed and locked her bedroom door, and took her phone off the hook, to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted. She sat in her desk chair, and carefully started reading the books. Two hours later she began preparing for the spell.   
  
She drew a pentagram, a five-pointed star in a circle in white chalk on the hardwood floor of her room. She set the candles and gems in two rings around the perimeter of the circle and lit the candles. She sat cross-legged in the circle, and called upon the elements for protection. She didn't feel any different once she had done it. She just trusted to them and continued with the spell.   
  
She followed the chant in the open book outside the circle. She reached for the runestave and the silver knife from the kitchen. She followed the symbol in the book, carefully, and stood, holding the stave above her head in her two hands.   
  
Her chanting grew, echoing in the room. A strange light as beginning to grow just outside the circle, about two meters away from her. The light was just smoke at first, whirling around pointlessly. Jenny took the stave, waving it in the shape of a person, and the smoke began to go where she directed it. The smoke changed colour from a dusty white to a bright, shining green. It flared suddenly, the brightness blinding Jenny temporarily.   
  
She blinked, little green dots dancing in front of her eyes. When she could see there was someone standing in front of her. Someone she thought she'd never see again.   
  
Standing there like the first time she'd seen him, the boy in the More Games store, lean and elegant, dressed all in black, hair white as snow, eyes a blue of an indescribable colour. The only difference was the atmosphere about him. When she had first been confronted with him, her impression had been one of radiating danger and menace. Now...he was staring at her with a look of mild surprise.   
  
Jenny had to control herself not to scream with delight. She'd done it!   
  
"You...brought me back," was all Julian said.   
  
"Yeah, I did." Jenny was grinning from ear to ear. She just couldn't help it. She knew she must look ridiculous. She noticed the candles had somehow moved. They were no longer lining the ring of the pentagram, they were dotted about the bedroom, their glow shining, and enchanting. Their eyes met, and Jenny knew what was going to happen. And when Julian smiled, she realised he knew too, and when he came forward to kiss her, she didn't deny him.   
  
* * *  



	3. Part 3

"I have a question," Julian said. They sat outside on the porch swing, a gentle breeze blowing, stars shining and a full moon glowing, as if smiling down on approval that they belonged together. "Why did you bring me back?"  
  
Jenny hadn't told him anything of the past week yet, not wanting to spoil the romantic, dreamy atmosphere of the night. But there had been a reason, a purpose for her bringing Julian back, and it looked like now was the time to tell. So she did. She told him everything, the strange deaths of all her friends.   
  
Julian listened, his face unreadable, he didn't make any comments at the mention of Tom's death, and Jenny didn't know why, but she felt glad about that. "Who's doing this?" he asked. "That's why you brought me back, isn't it?"  
  
Jenny nodded. "Her name is Shavone. She's the Shadow Mistress."  
  
He snorted. "You guys have got your work cut out for you."  
  
Jenny was annoyed. "Why the hell'd you think I brought you back? She's pissed at me for taking you away from her, and we figure she'll listen to you if you tell her to go away and leave us alone."  
  
Julian sighed, all traces of humour faded. "I don't think it's that easy. Shavone...well, she's not used to not getting her own way. She's the only woman within the Shadow World and the guys there all worship her like goddess. I thought she was fun at first..." He trailed off.   
  
"She turned out to be a bitch?" Jenny offered.   
  
"Something like that."  
  
The problem was now, getting Shavone banished. Killing her seemed to be damn close to impossible. How did you kill a goddess? That was Julian's job. That was why she'd brought him here. But what would happen when he did that? Don't think about it now, she told herself. He's back for now, make use of him while he's there. She'd made plenty of use of him already.   
  
"How do you think we should dispose of her?" Jenny asked.   
  
Julian shrugged.  
  
Jenny rolled her eyes. "You're a lot of help."  
  
"Gimme a break. I've only been back for what...four, five hours? I'm still fuzzy." He didn't seem much like the type to get fuzzy. She'd never even imagined Julian using such a word. He'd be fluffy next. God, she hoped not.   
  
"Why didn't you just carve her name off the runestave?" he asked.   
  
"I couldn't find the symbol," she admitted. "All I could find was Shavone isn't exactly a typical Shadow Creature. She's something called a Glittawitch, and she got stuck in the Shadow World, and has seemed to taken over and made the most of it."  
  
"Cause she's powerful and hot," Julian said.   
  
Jenny stared, but didn't comment. Men, she thought, disgusted. Did they ever look for any qualities in a woman other than "hot"?  
  
"How do you kill a Glittawitch?" she asked.   
  
"You can't," Julian answered. "That's all I know. They're supposed to be immortal."  
  
"Great, so we've got an enemy we can't kill, but she seems to be doing a fine job of killing us."  
  
That couldn't be true. There must be *some* way to dispose of Shavone.   
  
They didn't have long to think of something...  
  
* * *  
  
Something was wrong. Shavone wasn't exactly sure what, but she knew deep within herself that something was very, very wrong.   
  
She glanced around, feeling uncomfortable. She was back at the little overlook where it had all started, where she'd first killed Tom. Too bad he'd been one of them. He'd been kind of fun. A wimp, maybe, but she'd been able to make him do whatever she wanted.   
  
She had been able to control him. But the one person she wanted, she hadn't been able to control. She tugged a strand of orange hair, a very human gesture. God, this was so frustrating!  
  
She was clearly winning, all the little bitch's friends were getting very dead, very fast. Most of dying horribly, like they all deserved. So why didn't she feel happier?  
  
She sighed. She didn't know why she'd thought this would work. Killing them wasn't going to bring Julian back to her. He was out the picture for good. And if she carved his name back on the runestave, the Shadow Council would go bezerk. He'd broken all the rules. He'd fallen for a mortal. Not allowed.   
  
But still...she was the Shadow Queen, should she really take any crap from them about who she could bring back and who she couldn't? She was the Queen, she ran the show.   
  
But why did she feel so hollow inside? The ice around her was still as solid as it had ever been, and the victory was doing nothing to warm her to melt it.   
  
Was she doomed to remain frozen forever?  
  
Surely there must be someone else out there for her...  
  
But who? And could she find him? Would it matter if she did?  
  
Shavone sighed. Did anything matter anymore?   
  
* * *  
  
The tension in the room was noticeable, both Dee and Michael were clearly uncomfortable around Julian, who seemed more annoyed if anything. Jenny sighed heavily. Conversation was noticeably lacking. Even Michael wasn't making any jokes to ease the uncomfortable tension.   
  
The idea that all of them together would lure Shavone to them, in hopes that she could finish them off, and then Julian could force her to go away. Shavone's attention had noticeably been lacking recently. Almost a week had gone by, and no one had died, nothing had happened.   
  
Whenever Jenny saw her around school, she seemed distant, lost in another world, as if her mind was anywhere but her. It almost made her feel sorry for Shavone, but then she remembered what the vindictive little bitch had done to all her friends.   
  
But it seemed as if Shavone wasn't enjoying it as much as she'd have thought, maybe she was getting the idea that revenge wasn't everything. She'd just have to deal and move on.  
  
She wasn't dealing well.   
  
The group had decided there was nothing to do but live normal life. But what did you do with the ex-Shadow Man you brought back to fight another one? Julian was probably getting pretty sick of being shoved in Jenny's closet during the day.   
  
A gust of cold wind blew through the room. Everyone remained where they were, trying not to show how it affected them; Jenny tried to keep her fear hidden deep inside her.   
  
"You called, I'm here, what?" Shavone sounded completely stressed out. Could a Shadow Queen get stressed? Apparently so.   
  
"Hi Shavone," Julian said casually from his seat beside Jenny.   
  
Jenny hoped she wasn't giving the impression she was hiding behind him. The shock on Shavone's face would have been funny in another situation.   
  
"You...what....I..." Shavone was stuttering. Jenny was surprised. She'd seemed so mean, so cruel and vicious, and now, loo at her. She was nothing. She'd been reduced to stuttering, for God's sake. How pathetic could you get? She'd completely lost her motive, the fight seemed to have gone out of her.   
  
Shavone was looking around, seeming to gather herself, realising how foolish she must look. "You're dead, why are you here?"  
  
"Who said I was dead?" Jenny had to admire him, Julian was so casual. Did he not fear Shavone at all? The thing Jenny feared now, was Shavone's rapidly dwindling sanity. Her mood changes were frightening, the way she went to pathetic to cool and collected so quickly. Okay, maybe Shavone's sanity had never been there in the first place, but she was still...  
  
Still what?   
  
Jenny didn't know.   
  
"Why are you here?" Shavone asked.   
  
Julian turned and met her eyes. "Why do you think?"  
  
"Don't answer my questions with questions," Shavone snapped.   
  
"Temper, temper," Julian said, amused.   
Shavone's impossibly blue eyes were glittering with rage. She looked furious, and as if there was nothing she could do.   
  
Dee was grinning. "Way to go Julian. If you tell her to kill herself, will she do it?"  
  
"Dee!" Jenny was shocked. She'd been trying to stay out of the argument as much as possible.   
  
Shavone turned, her expression furious. Her eyes were still glittering insanely, and she started to wave her hand...  
  
"Did it ever occur to you to pick on someone of your own species?" Julian asked, stepping in to save Dee.  
  
"Like you?" Shavone snarled. The hand she had been about to use to attack Dee with, was actually glowing. A sort of swirling red was beginning to glow around it, magic fire. She hurled the blast of magic at Julian, who sighed tiredly, as if bored with playing with a pet. He held his hand up in the air, and when Shavone's magic was about two feet from him, it dispersed into thin air.   
  
Another gust of cold air blew suddenly. They were all gathered in Michael's living room. Books and papers and knickknacks were suddenly flying around in a sort of magic whirlwind, glittering colours flashing brightly. Thunder boomed and lightning clasped.   
  
"What's going on?" Jenny screamed, clutching Julian's arm.   
  
"Just someone I called to get rid of Shavone," Julian answered, still with annoying casualness. Did nothing affect him? Now Jenny was beginning to remember why he'd bugged her.   
  
A flash of lightning struck, taking out the electricity, and the room was plunged into blackness. Jenny screamed, and someone else did too, and for some reason, Jenny kind of got the impression it might have been Michael. Dee wouldn't scream, and Shavone didn't seem like the screaming type.  
  
A strange blue glow was beginning to rise from the carpet on the floor. Slow at first, and slowly gathering into the shape of a person. The man who stood there was huge, and looked like an Aztec God, dressed in dark robes with a strange jewelled mask on his face. The masked face was turned towards Shavone.  
  
Shavone was riveted to the spot, her eyes were wide with fear. She was *shaking.* Jenny decided she liked this new guy.   
  
He looked at Shavone. "You've been a bad girl."  
  
"It was her fault!" Shavone shrieked like a child being reprimanded. She pointed a trembling arm at Jenny "She stepped into my territory!"  
  
"It's not even your territory," the god said. He sounded as tired and bored as Julian. "You're not a Shadow Person. You're a glittawitch, you don't belong here."  
  
"What's a glittawitch?" Michael asked no one in particular.   
  
"I'll tell you later," Jenny said. And then, "I thought they can't be killed."  
  
"Sure they can," the god said casually. He looked at Shavone, and Jenny guessed he was smiling under his mask. Shavone looked terrified. She turned towards Julian, her eyes pleading.   
  
"I don't want to die," she whispered. "How could you do this to me? I loved you. You never understood that."  
  
He looked back at her, his eyes and expression blank and unreadable. "You didn't. You just wanted me, because I was something new you hadn't tried before."  
  
Shavone was actually on her knees now. Her orange head was hanging, her hair a disbelieved mess. She clutched at the god's robes. "I don' want to die," she said again. "I can be good..."  
  
"You had your chance," the god said. He waved a hand, and the whirlwind started up again, the cold air blowing a mass of chaos and magic, covering Shavone. Her screams echoed and she reached out, her eyes pleading for someone to save her.  
  
But no one did.   
  
"Is she dead now?" Dee asked.   
  
The god sighed. "No. I guess I feel a little bit of pity for the poor brat. She's just been banished. She won't bother you anymore." A final flash of lightning boomed, and again, the room blacked out.  
  
When Jenny could see again, it was as if nothing had ever happened. But that wasn't true. Tom was dead. So were Summer, Audrey and Zach.  
  
"Who was that?" Dee asked.   
  
Julian shrugged. "Shaltoc, Glitta Lord of Death. The Glittawitch god. I pulled a few strings and managed to get some of them to get him to come and deal with Shavone."  
  
"I kind of felt sorry for her at the end," Jenny admitted.   
  
Dee stared. "Jenny, she was a murderous bitch who got what she deserved."  
  
Okay, so maybe she was. Shavone was gone. But still something good had come out of it, Julian had come back. Finals were over with, and there was a whole future to look ahead to.  
  
"So what now?" Michael asked. "And what's a glittawitch?"  
  
"They're an immortal creature of Ireland, sort of like a fae," Julian answered. "As for what next..." He looked over at Jenny and smiled. "I can think of a few things to do."  
  
Jenny grinned. "Like what?"  
  
"How 'bout I show you?"  
  
"Show what?" Michael asked.   
  
"I don't think we want to see," Dee answered, taking his arm and leading him out, while Julian showed Jenny what he was thinking they could do.   
  
THE END.   



End file.
